The Wandering Balloon

The youth group at our church was selling heart-shaped balloons for Valentine's Day. They are trying to make money for summer camp. So, I bought one for each member of my family. I've bought the balloons before but they never lasted this long. Usually, they would have deflated by the middle of March. This year, three of the four are still floating. My daughter played with hers so much that it lost its helium a few weeks after she got it. The ones I got for my wife, son and mother-in-law are still floating. But now, the one I got for my wife is starting to act strangely - it can't seem to stay in one place.

It's the Wandering Balloon and it's become the source of a lot of fun for us. You never know where it's going to show up next. I guess it's because it's starting to deflate and doesn't push up again st the ceiling as strongly as it once did. So now, any small air current will carry it around the house. The top picture shows it in my daughter's room (you can tell from the pink wall). But, since she had already "used up" her own balloon, Emma thought it wasn't fair that the balloon was in her room so she brought it downstairs and tied it to the hand rail of the stairs as you can see in the second picture.

But apparently she didn't tie it very well because, as you can see in the third picture, the Wandering Balloon worked its way back up the stairs later that day. At least, we think it was because she didn't tie the string correctly. Could it have untied itself? That could never happen, could it? And how do we explain the balloon moving into and out of rooms that have doors? How did the balloon drop down to fit through the door and then rise again once it got into the room?

This morning, I found the balloon in the living room (in the last picture). Once again, it dropped low enough to fit through a door. Did it just stay low this time or is it just bending down to look out the window? I'll be watching the door of our bedroom tonight. If I see a shape moving in close to the top of the door, I'll know it's just the Wandering Balloon checking to see if we're sleeping OK. Or could it have a more sinister purpose? If this blog doesn't get updated in the next few days, you'll know.